The Karman Genht
by theunknownone
Summary: Story of how one man becomes a hired gun r
1. chapter 1

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The Karman Genht

By

Theunknownone

Chapter 1

The two suns of Tatoonie rose slowly above the wind swept desert. He awoke to the first rays that entered his small hut. It had been the first real sleep he had in sometime, he thought to himself, "I think the Imperial Army has me no longer listed as AWOL but now probably dead."

Grall ate a light meal before heading into the cave that was only meters from his hut. He switched on the power generator and the dark, cool cave awoke with light, he looked at his half constructed ship. "It still looks to Imperial," he said aloud as if someone was there to respond. The ship was a combination of sorts, a cargo shuttle and part TIE interceptor. He turned to the table where uniforms from storm troopers, scouts, and TIE pilots were strewed across. Somewhere in his mind he thought desertion and becoming a bounty hunter would have been easy.

He knew he could do this, if not for himself but for his father. The thought of the his father made him remember, the old Jedi teachings of meditation. He sat on the sand floor and closed his eyes. He began to control his breathing, and the beating of his heart. It had taken no time before the walls of the cave, and his age disappeared.

He was back in his childhood, feeling the cool sand between his toes in the early morning hours just before dawn as he walked with his father to this same cave. As a boy his father was a freighter pilot but as the empire rose to power his father had become a smuggler. The day his father died came rushing back to him, his fathers cries through the com-link, running out the hut door to see his fathers ship plummeting towards the ground, out of control being pursued by TIE fighters. 

Grall was certain his father was dead, only by seconds the ship managed to lurch up and level off. The craft kicked up sand, dirt and dust as it made a rough emergency landing. He watched his father's ship bounce and rock across the Tatoonie surface. It finally came to rest one thousand meters from where it initially impacted. 

The shuttle appeared as if from no where, the storm troopers jumping from the deck even before the shuttle had settled on the ground. He watched for his father to emerge from the damaged craft, and within seconds saw what he had hoped for. Gret Grall, with blaster ready fired at the approaching troops. "Run boy," his father yelled, "get your mother and run!!!" Seconds later the storm troopers like mang fros swarmed over his ship, and was killed. Grall grabbed his blaster rifle and his mother, running for the door they were greeted by another squad of troopers. 

"Drop the rifle or we'll blast you all the way out of the outer rim territories", the leading storm trooper said. Grall did as the storm trooper order. Both he and mother were placed in shackles. While being escorted to the awaiting shuttles, a trooper asked him his age. He replied, "Seventeen cycles, sir" He felt as the storm trooper eyed him. 

"Sir, another candidate for Basic Training!" the storm trooper yelled.

"Very well then , Sergeant" the officer responded, "take him aboard your shuttle and get him shipped off to the closest training center, we'll take the woman here to a relocation center."

Grell awoke with a shudder. He stood and walked towards the cave entrance, night had fallen. He kicked off his boots and once again walked barefoot through the sand of Tatoonie.


	2. chapter 2

Chapter 2

Grall sat in the darkened hut, he knew any light could be see for many, many kilometers in this barren wasteland of a planet. One could never know if a flight of TIE fighters or a imperial cargo shuttle would fly near by. He sat silently looking out over the dark, desolate sand dunes trying to remember where his fathers ship settled into the ground. Nine cycles had passed since he was here last, he knew the desert had swallowed it. But how much, was it only a few centimeters deep? Or was it many meters deep?

He was ready before dawn, the first sun had only begun to shed it's light when he began to search for the remains of his fathers freighter. With scanning equipment in hand he began the daunting task. Tatoonie with it's shifting sands could bury anything within hours. After nine cycles, this would not be easy for Grall. Both suns were at their highest point before he found the ship, his search was over.

It would take him until nightfall before he would find the hatch to get into the vessel. The foreboding darkness greeted him as he entered, he closed the hatch behind him before turning on any light. The ship looked as if it were dead. The hull breaches were obvious, sand had flooded in, even through the smallest crack. Grall had seen where he and his father had slept, ate and entertained themselves on the long freighter journeys they had done before the empire had come into it's full power. 

He walked back into the cargo hold, everything had stayed intact during the last few moments of flight. Grall reached and pressed the one of the hatches, with a dull "swoosh" the hatch opened. Imperial credits spilled out onto the deck. Grall was in awe. Never before had he seen so many credits, thousands upon millions. He continued to look through each of the six meter long, one meter high, one meter deep cargo holds. Blasters, armor, credits, and rations.

Now for the more challenging task of doing a systems check. First was the engines, the room opened up to damaged shattered pieces of debris. There would be no salvaging of engines from this ship. He made his way forward to the cockpit. He climbed in the seat from where his father commanded this once mighty vessel. The seat molded around his body, a comfort he had long forgotten. The ship breathed in a sick, almost dying gasp as the systems came on-line. Very few systems had come up to levels needed to perform even the smallest task. Grall wondered how his father actually managed to save himself and the ship from total destruction. While doing a more through check of the systems, he noticed the landing engines had come up to thirty-seven percent power. Grall tried to push the ship forward from it's sandy grave, but to no avail. 

Grall jumped from the command seat, running for the hatch to try to hurry before daybreak to move the sand burying the ship. When he opened the door he was surprised to see the daylight already striking the top of the mountain five thousand meters away. Grall was shocked had he actually spent that much time in here, a full night? Deciding it would be better to stay with the ship so not to loose it he stayed. He grabbed a ration from the cargo area, and quickly ate it be fore he made it to the crew quarters. Grall laid down in his old bunk thought of the good times he once had here, and quickly fell asleep.


	3. chapter 3

Chapter 3

The body is a machine, and like all machines needs an occasional stoppage. Grall had quickly drifted off to sleep in a bunk that he had not slept in for at least ten cycles. His mind was full of memories and those memories quickly entered his dreams. He was nine cycles younger, his father's body was still warm from the blaster fire that had just ended his life. His mother and he were separated, she was on the command shuttle, Grall was on a landing craft. 

Grall was silent on the whole journey from the surface to the Imperial Star Destroyer. The empire was just now starting to gain control in the Outer Rim. The landing craft docked with destroyer only minutes after entering space. When Grall was marched down the ramp of the ship he looked around for the shuttle his mother had been on. It was no where to be seen. He asked the Strom Trooper that was next to him, "Where is the command shuttle?"

"It has another destination, your mother is to be relocated with other refugees", the Strom Trooper answered, "you are now a conscript in the Imperial Army."

Grall tried to be strong, but a small part of him knew he would never see his mother again. He was led by two Strom Troopers to a holding tank in the bowels of the ship. The door slid open with a pronounced 'whoosh', he was pushed inside. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness that filled the room, every race imaginable was there. He found a small space of unoccupied wall and pressed his back against it and slid down till he was seated. No one made any sounds or attempts to talk with one another. 

He felt the ship come to life, they were preparing to leave the orbit of his world, where he was going he would not know till the ship arrived. Grall knew the second they achieved light speed. 

Time had come to a stop for him. There was no way to track it. Rations were dumped in with no rhythm. The lighting never changed, no one could see all the way across the forty meter by forty meter jail. Grall had made every attempt to try making a system to keep track of time, but with no luck. Growing frustrated with the deprivation that his captors had put him in he did the only he could do, meditate.

Grall in his meditative state, was unaware of anything. That was until the Star Destroyer came out of hyper space. The two men seated next to him were startled when he awoke. The blonde one to his left exclaimed "I thought you were dead!" Grall never responded.

In a matter of seconds the dim state the conscripts had become accustomed to, was shattered, when the lights awoke to their full power. Grall, as well as everyone in the room, was blind. "Whoosh", he heard the cell door open, shouting quickly followed. He could here kicks and bodies being thrown about the large cell. His sight back, Grall had come to see what had happened. The wall to his right, was now blocked by several Strom Troopers. A gray suited officer came in, he stood no more than a meter or two from where the troopers stood. "All of you worthless scum on your feet!" the officer yelled. "Form two rows," he said , now in a calmer voice, "humans to the front, the rest of you in the back." The group did as they were told, everyone was ready to fight against their captors, but with sixteen armed troopers, blasters in hand, pointing at them it would have been a lost cause. 

Eight Imperial Navy Troopers entered the cell, and started the process of shacking the groups of conscripts to each other. The officer turned to the lead trooper, "Get them aboard the landing craft and to the surface as quickly as possible."

"Yes sir." the trooper replied with the discipline that was instilled within him. Within a few moments the shackled group were headed to the landing craft.

As they were moving Grall's muscle were sending him the signals that they had been dormant too long, but he pushed on none the less. He was back in the hanger where he had first arrived aboard the ship. The landing craft was parked right where it had been when he left. He kept going until the group was aboard and seated for the next portion of the journey the empire had deemed for them. Grall watched out the porthole as the landing craft dropped from the belly of the Star Destroyer. 


	4. chapter 4

Chapter 4

The landing craft gently slowed than landed with no more than a dull thud. Humans filled one side of the landing craft while the other species filled the other. The hatch lowered, and ten troopers flooded in taking the mix of strange beings away, (Grall would later learn that they were forced into slavery or killed.), a officer boarded with two naval troopers by his side. "Welcome to Training Facility Omega Nine," he said with a proud voice, "here you will be treated like any other recruit into the mighty Imperial Army." The officer cleared his throat, "Unless you try to escape, then you will be eliminated." 

The two troopers dressed in all black began to unfasten the shackles that held them all together. The officer continued with his speech "When you have been released from your confines, disembark and form two columns. You will be then marched to the testing and processing area." The group did as they had been ordered to do. 

Their first stop was the hygiene and uniform depot. The twenty-six humans were each issued a pair of calf high boots, a pair of black pants, and one tunic. The made their way though the dark narrow hallways to the hygiene stations. Grall entered the one that he had been ordered to enter. The hatch closed behind him, he laid down his new clothes the empire had issued him. He removed the sweat stained clothes of his past. Grall walked into the hygiene booth, the steam and water quickly washed the stink of a long duration confined space flight. It took only a couple of moments for the hygiene station to clean and dry him. 

After dressing he stepped back into the hall. Most of his fellow conscripts emerged at the same time. The new Imperial soldiers marched to the next station, aptitude testing. They marched into the large room a low ranking soldier told them to take a seat anywhere. Grall took a seat towards the middle of the large room. He sat at his stationed and waited. There had been a long wait, first test of the empire, can you handle the wait to do your mission? Finally the testing officer entered the room. The officer was shorter than most of the imperial forces he had so far encountered, the officer spoke with a very nasally, squeaky voice, "The testing you are about to start is to determine what role you will serve your emperor. Some of you will become mechanics, gunners, troopers, or anything else the Imperial Forces need to regain control of the separatist systems."

"The testing is timed and we will check your results. You will then be told which training group you are assigned to. BEGIN!" the officer quickly disappeared . Grall began his testing. For him the questions were too easy. He may have been raised on Tatooine, but his parents had made sure he had an education. Grall zipped through his test as if they were basic arithmetic. He was the first one to finish and in record time. He stayed in his chair rubbing the last part of stiffness from his legs, the same squeaky voiced officer tapped him on the shoulder and said, " Come with me recruit."

Grall stood up almost towering over the officer. He stayed two steps behind him. They walked for a least a kilometer. The two stopped outside a door that read COMMANDANT. "Stay here." the squeaky voiced officer said as he disappeared behind the door. It took numerous moments before the officer reappeared. "Enter" it was the last time the squeaky voiced officer would ever speak to him.

He entered the office as he had been told. The Commandant sat there watching as Grall entered the room. Commandant Mich'la was an older man with gray hair around his temples. "Sit, my young recruit, sit," the pleasantry rang through the Commandant's voice. "Congratulations, you received the best score ever in the history of this Training Facility. With that comes honors."

"What kind of honors?", questioned Grall

"You will be put into Advanced Leadership Development Training." the Commandant said. "You will come out of here a Sergeant."

"Pardon me for asking Sir," Grall was dumbfounded , "what does this mean to me?"

"Well according to your files, you are a conscript." the Commandant bluntly stated, "Any conscript that makes a leadership position is given citizenship in the new order."

"What about my Mother?"

"I assume she was taken to a relocation center?"

"According to a Strom Trooper that captured me, yes."

The Commandant opened up the terminal in his desk, "What is her name?"

"Bekahon Grall", he said trying to control his emotions.

The old officer became fixated on the terminal before him. A click here, a push of a button here. In no time the Commandant looked up and said, "Your mother is now a citizen. She will be released from the relocation center and given residence on any controlled system."

"Thank you sir" Grall was now fighting hard to control his emotions.

"I except great things from you. I see you making elite forces." the old officer said. "Now go to training command and get assigned to your unit."


	5. chapter 5

Chapter 5

Grall's training in the Advanced Leadership Development, was a difficult time. Not only did the members of this unit have to learn how to be a Strom Trooper, but learn tactics, strategy, and other tasks that would needed to be preformed while doing the duties of a member of the Imperial Army.

Throughout training Grall had been closely watched by the Commandant, and he knew it. It was like having his father back, so he pushed himself harder doing his best to achieve perfection. The training was complete in one- half cycle, and he was at the top of his graduating company. Grall would be the first one to get his orders for assignment, his would be presented to him during the graduation ceremony. Grall was surprised by his assignment, knowing that he had been a conscript, was assigned to the Elite Corps. 

Before the day was done Grall had packed up his belongings as was on a shuttle bound for Coruscant. He sat in the cargo bay reflecting, he did develop a loyalty to the Empire, but it was mostly to take care of his mother. Never would he truly be as loyal as the others he would work with, but he would never let them know that. The journey was a long one and he spent most of that time recovering from his training. When the shuttle reached Coruscant, Grall had recovered from the mental and physical damage he had taken in training.

Seven and a half cycles had passed, he had been across the galaxy and back again helping the empire to gain control of every known system. "Commander, we have just come out of light speed and we will be docking with the research station soon." the pilot said from the cockpit. Grall looked to his commander and waited. The commander nodded, Grall slipped his helmet over his head and headed to the cargo bay.

"Stand Too," Grall commanded, "full gear on and be ready to disembark."

The troops did as they were ordered and got into formation in no time. He could hear the wings begin to fold up, docking was soon. The shuttle had come to rest, and the ramp lowered. The Strom Troopers marched out followed by Grall and the Commander. A man in a white uniform approached them, "Welcome I am Wangre Colkt, manager of this station." the man said.

The Commander responded, " I am Commander Dexzt, and this is Sergeant Grall." Grall nodded towards the man.

"Allow me to show you two around. My staff and I are so relived that the Empire has finally allowed troops to come and protect these facilities. This so called rebellion is making us nervous. A TIE fighter production facility, and now a Star Destroyer facility." the man said in a very worried tone.

The Commander spoke with all the confidence of a man in his position, "The rebellion, as you call it will be crushed in no time, any attempts to sabotage this station will be useless."

The three walked throughout the station. The manager showing the key places in the facility from where a thermal detonator would easily destroy the entire station. Then it was where the key points of research where being carried out. "Now Commander, this area is the most important area in this facility." the manager spoke with a very important tone, "this is where the new breeds of TIE craft are being developed."

They entered the control room, it was empty and dark. The manager switched on the lights. There were computers and terminals everywhere except for one wall, it was glass. Grall and the Commander looked at each other, not knowing what to expect. Suddenly the lights came on and a small hanger laid before them.

"What you two are seeing is the next generation of TIE fighters." the manager spoke with lots of pride when he began speaking, "The ones you see on the left is the TIE Advance x 1, we will be delivering one of them to Lord Vader when the Death Star is complete. Lord Vader will do the final tests before we go in to production."

"The craft on the lower right is the TIE bomber, I wish I could tell you more but I am assigned a greater task. The TIEs above those are my main project. The interceptor, it is faster than the standard TIE. Right now my main problem is handling because of it's greater speed and fire power." The manager continued on, "We even have one that is capable of traveling at light speed, but I don't think that version will ever make the production line."

The three began walking back towards the main hanger bay to meet up with the rest of the troops. "May I ask Commander? What is this I here that the Emperor is talking about dissolving the Senate?" ask the manager.

"Currently it is nothing more than a rumor." the commander stated, "As for the security ten of my men will be one at one time. With myself and Sergeant Grall patrolling and making sure everything is normal."

The group arrived at the hanger bay and the Commander sent the first guards out. Grall was pulled aside by one of the pilots from the shuttle. "Sergeant, I don't know how to tell you this but your mother has died." the pilot tried to show some feeling when he told him, " we just received the comm, I wish there was more to tell you. I am sorry."

Grall walked off to the other side of the hanger to be alone. He had done this whole life for his mother, now she was gone. He made a decision that instant, he would leave the empire, and do something else.


End file.
